In Response to Zanele Muholi’s ‘Enraged by a Picture’

At the last Association of Women in Development (AWID) event held in Cape Town, South Africa, I met a photographer called Zanele Muholi. Zanele stood out for me because on one of the occasions we chatted, she was wearing a ‘housemaid’s’ uniform in solidarity with domestic workers – she spoke to me about the plight of domestic workers, an issue I feel strongly yet contradicted about. Zanele also gave me a CD that included a short film she had made – I eventually watched the film two days ago.

The film was titled ‘Enraged by a Photograph’ and documented reactions by a range of people who had seen a photo exhibition of black South African lesbians shot in various poses by Zanele including– a woman binding her breasts, a woman who had been raped the day before and a sanitary pad on a plate (complete with fork and knife). The pictures are definitely one that would provoke some emotion (which I always think is a great thing) and I guess the pictures I have mentioned are the ones that stuck out the most for me.

At least from the few pictures I saw on the film I think Zanele is a brave photographer whose closeness with her subjects allows her to capture intimate moments that most of us will not be privy to. I think Zanele’s pictures says ‘black lesbians’ have human rights too and have the right to love each other without fear of ‘corrective rape’, murder and hate. Zanele’s pictures challenge us to look beyond the surface and ask ‘why should anyone be enraged by these photographs?’

After watching the film I tried to send Zanele an email with the details she gave to me last November but my email bounced. Sister Zanele if you ever read this I would like to say ‘Kudos, Stay Strong and Stay Passionate’

P.S: Zanele’s website is www.zanelemuholi.com